The Gentle and Faithful Saluki

As a child, I often listened to my father discuss our homeland of Syria and a special animal he called the "Prince of Dogs." In his colloquial Arabic, he referred to this dog as the salaque, and he told me how our ancestors revered the breed for its dignity and independent spirit, as well as its amazing hunting prowess and fidelity to its master. 

In North America that elegant, powerful animal is known as the Saluki. I never forgot my father's stories, and as I have traveled through the countries of North Africa and the Middle East in my adult years, I always try to find more information about this exceptional member of the dog world.

Ancient Works of Art

The Saluki has been a companion of man for millennia. Historians believe it is the oldest breed of domesticated dog -- some assert the oldest tamed animal. The first known evidence of the Saluki, also known as the Persian greyhound and the gazelle hound, was its depiction in carvings found in the area of ancient Mesopotamia, dating back to about 14,000 B.C.

From Mesopotamia, traders carried the Saluki throughout the Middle East and into the Nile Valley, where they became the favorite hounds of the ancient Egyptian ruling classes. Owned only by the nobility, the Saluki was known as the "Royal Dog of Egypt." Aside from the many statues and wall paintings of Salukis found in Egypt -- some dating back 5,300 years -- many Salukis were mummified and have been discovered in the tombs of their masters.

Images of the Saluki can be found on ancient pottery and crypts throughout the Middle East. The literature of the Assyrians, Babylonians and Sumerians mentions the dog in rapturous phrases. Later, the Arabs praised the Saluki in their poetry and song, giving it the name slughi, from Saluq, a long-vanished city in South Arabia. Abu Nuwas was a famous Arab poet from the eighth century whose poetry mentions the Saluki. "It is as though behind the place where his eyelashes meet there are burning coals, constantly kindled," he wrote of the dog. "Like a hawk swooping on sand-grouse, he peels the skin of the earth with four feet."

Desert Hunter

Game was sparse in the desert, and the nomadic people of the Arab world needed meat to stay alive. They found an ideal instrument in the Saluki. Its eyes are deep set, extra bright and sharp, permitting the Saluki to easily spot moving prey far away on the desert horizon. The Saluki's ears, which droop close to the head and feature a covering of fine, silky feathering, have an uncanny hearing ability. The full-grown Saluki stands from 24 to 29 inches tall, weighs between 40 and 50 pounds, and can reach speeds of up to 50 miles an hour. From the head, the back gently slopes over an arched neck and well-muscled shoulders to well-knit hips. The dog's streamlined appearance gives an impression of neatness, dignity and graceful symmetry. This elegant design is a perfect example of how nature shapes an animal for a specific task -- hunting over open terrain. With its sharp hearing, superb eyesight and strength, no beast of the desert can escape its clutches.

Bedouins took great care and patience in training this favored animal. At first the young Saluki was taught to hunt small rats, then hares. As its speed, strength and endurance reached maturity, it was taught to hunt gazelles. After thousands of years pursuing game in a flat, treeless land, these skills became second nature for the breed, giving the Saluki the capability to bring down the swiftest of game.

The Saluki comes in various shades and colors, and in two different types: smooth-coated and feathered. It is believed that originally each tribe bred a separate, distinct type of Saluki -- the blondes and fawns in the golden desert; the blacks in the black lava deserts of the Fertile Crescent. The ones bred in the northern parts of Syria, Iraq and Iran, called the northern strain, were raised to hunt in the cold, rough mountain terrains of these countries. Hence, they developed thick coats and thick feathering. Those bred in the Arabian Peninsula and Egypt, called the southern strain, were the true desert hounds -- taller, leggier and with much less feathering.

Although the Saluki is sometimes referred to as the eastern greyhound or the gazelle hound in the West, it is not a greyhound. Some experts assert that the sloughi of North Africa and the greyhound could have been the same breed as the Saluki at the dawn of civilization. Others believe the greyhound and sloughi are descendents of the Saluki. In any case, today they are considered different breeds from the same family of dogs.

Family Tradition

The tradition of Saluki breeding was deeply rooted in the Arab tribes. The men of the desert believed it was a perfect animal and valued it more than most other possessions. Islam pronounces that dogs are unclean, but a special exemption was made for the Saluki. In fact, it was believed that the dog was a gift from God to the tribes, earning the Saluki the title of el-Hur, or the "Noble One." There is even a legend that the Prophet Muhammad himself owned a Saluki that he used for hunting. Only the purebred horse and camel matched the Saluki in the Bedouin's esteem. To the Saluki, it is said, the Bedouin is a slave rather than a master.

Like a distinguished guest, the Saluki was allowed to freely enter the home of its master, tent and palace alike, where it slept on rugs and cushions or even with members of the household. Its faithfulness is legendary -- the Saluki hunts only for its owner and no one else. Some Bedouins even contend that the Saluki, when well trained, will bring its master a rabbit on its own when it senses the need.

The genealogies of the Salukis, some a thousand years old, are jealously guarded. Bedouins learn and transmit their pedigrees orally, never writing them down. Females, when in heat, are not allowed to mate with a strange dog. If an accident occurs, the impure pups are destroyed. Saluki pups are never sold, only given as a gift to cherished guests, and bloodlines are so well guarded that family resemblances are seen from one generation to the next.

Westward Ho

Salukis were first introduced into Europe during the Crusades, from the 11th century until the end of the 13th century. Both soldiers and nobles in the invading European armies were fascinated by the Saluki's speed and beauty, and enthralled with its hunting ability. Some of these soldiers secured Salukis of their own. However, the breed did not proliferate in most parts of Europe until many centuries later. One exception was in Sicily and southern Italy. The Emperor Frederick II of Sicily, who ruled in the 13th century, was a great patron of the Saluki and is credited with introducing it throughout that region.

Because of their colonial activities in the Arab world, England and France were the first countries in western Europe where the Saluki became common. Lady Florence Amherst is credited for first importing the southern strain of Saluki into England in the 19th century. Later, the northern strain was also exported to England. Today, American Salukis are primarily a blend of these two types.

The Saluki is still found in all parts of the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa and most countries in western Asia, but in fewer numbers than in the past. The Saluki is going the way of the Bedouins -- crowded out by civilization. As the members of these ancient tribes move to the cities, the traditional hunting role of the Saluki is fading. A few remaining Bedouin tribes still use the Saluki for hunting, but the gazelle -- their main prey -- has become almost extinct because of overhunting with modern weapons. What few Salukis remain among the Bedouins are raised primarily for comradeship and sentimentality. Royal families and nobility still raise the dog in large numbers, but even these dogs are only bred for sport and companionship.

On the other hand, the Saluki is becoming increasingly popular in Europe and North America. Never noisy or aggressive, and remarkably clean and odor free, they are ideal companion dogs. And like the Bedouins, people in the West are learning the Saluki's fidelity and affection for its master is unequaled. There is little doubt that as people become more and more familiar with these traits, this noble dog of the desert has a bright future on this side of the ocean.